Society's ChildS


Yoda

US Federal judge blocks Kansas law punishing boycott of Israel (BDS) supporters

Jesse Rubin
Mondoweiss
Tue, 30 Jan 2018 14:14 UTC
Esther Koontz BDS
Esther Koontz, Kansas math teacher and Mennonite, who supports BDS.
In an unprecedented victory for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a federal judge has blocked Kansas from enforcing a state law which punishes those who express support or engage in the boycott of Israel.

Federal Judge Daniel Crabtree issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, prohibiting the state from acting for the duration of a lawsuit filed in October by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Esther Koontz, a longtime Wichita public school teacher.

The suit derives from Koontz's adherence to the Palestinian call for BDS. Alongside fellow members of the Mennonite Church USA and in solidarity with Palestinians, she decided to boycott all consumer products from both Israeli companies and those that operate in Israel's illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

After the passage of the anti-BDS law, all Kansas state employees were required to sign a certification guaranteeing they do not participate in the boycott of Israel.

Comment: Judge Crabtree picked up on the fact that the anti-BDS law puts Israel First - before the First Amendment, that is.

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Cross

U of Iowa Christian group who denied leadership position to gay member ruled non-discriminatory

Aaron Colen
The Blaze
Wed, 31 Jan 2018 11:28 UTC
University of Iowa
© Getty ImagesA Christian organization at the University of Iowa that was disbanded for not granting a gay member a leadership position has been reinstated. A judge ruled last week against the school’s “selective enforcement” of its nondiscrimination policy.
A Christian organization at the University of Iowa that was disbanded for not granting a gay member a leadership position has been reinstated after a judge ruled against the school's "selective enforcement" of its nondiscrimination policy.

Business Leaders in Christ refused to give a leadership position to an openly gay student who refused to sign the group's Statement of Faith.

The statement reads: "Members should conduct their careers without the greed, racism, sexual immorality and selfishness that too often arise in business, political and cultural institutions."

Comment: If you take the fact that the student is gay out of the equation, it seems like a fairly straight-forward case. If you refuse to sign the "Statement of Faith", a requirement for leadership, then you can't be the leader. Maybe a better question is why would you want to lead a group with whom you disagree on foundational principles? Pro-Lifers don't try to lead Pro-Choice groups, and vice-versa. It's hardly discriminatory to want a leader who aligns with the values of the organization.

See also:

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Star of David

Israeli journalist says young American Jews' support for Palestinians is 'sickness'

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Tue, 30 Jan 2018 13:51 UTC
Ben-Dror Yemini Israeli journalist
Israeli journalist Ben-Dror Yemini
I ought to be grateful that after Israeli journalist Ben-Dror Yemini began his talk at a Reform synagogue in New York last week by saying that he had asked for seven hours to address us, he proceeded to speak for only 90 minutes, passing over many of the slides in his power point on the Industry of Lies against Israel so that he could get us home at a respectable hour. I really thought we were in for a Castro-like drubbing!

Even at its abbreviated length, though, the talk was unsettling. There was one urgent question all evening: Why are so many young American Jews being drawn into criticism of Israel? Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch introduced Yemini in the sanctuary of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue by saying that Jewish children are "succumb"-ing to lies put forward by Omar Barghouti, a founder of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Even Jews, even our own children, often succumb or are at least tempted by this industry of lies.
That concern was restated from the floor several times, by many of the 60 Jews gathered there, almost all about my age or older (60s). Why have our children fallen for Palestinian celebrities in their tailored suits?

Comment:
Yemini's overall point was that Israel is not nearly as guilty of human rights abuses as other countries, but it is "paying the price for being a democracy."
Oh, for Yahweh's sake, not another Israeli snowflake complaining about how mistreated they are by the rest of the world! Just because they oppress and murder Palestinians and steal their land!

Interesting that it was a liberal synagogue that organized the event:

Gaslighting for Israel: Liberal and Leftist Zionists

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Boat

'Ghost ships' with corpses of presumed N. Korean fishermen keep landing on Japanese shores (VIDEO)


RT
Wed, 31 Jan 2018 13:23 UTC
ghost ship Japan North Korea
© Ruptly
Small wooden boats filled with unidentified dead sailors, assumed to be North Korean fishermen, keep washing up on the shores of Japan.

The so-called 'ghost ships' have been regularly washing up on the shores of Oga, a city in the peninsular Akita Prefecture. This year, however, has already seen a dramatic rise in the number of discoveries.

Since December, the remains of 35 people have been found aboard 103 wooden boats that drifted onto Japanese shores or were discovered in its territorial waters. A total of 13 of the dead have yet to be identified.

One of the somber overturned boats in Oga was captured in eerie drone footage by RT's Ruptly video agency.


Comment: In November, Fox News suggested the dead sailors were 'North Korean defectors':

N. Korean defectors possible occupants of ghost ship found on Japanese coast

See also:

Japanese authorities make another grim "ghost ship" discovery

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Magic Wand

French students occupy University of Paris floor demanding amnesty to all migrants


RT
Thu, 01 Feb 2018 13:07 UTC
French students demonstration immigration France Paris
© File Photo: Francoise Gulliot / AFP
Students at the University of Paris occupied a campus building Tuesday, calling on the government to support and grant asylum to all migrants regardless of their reasons for coming to France.

Describing themselves as the Migrant Support Committee, the students issued a statement calling for "papers for all" and an end to the distinction between "economic migrants" and "political refugees."

Comment: Nothing wrong with expressing solidarity for people who found themselves in circumstances that forced them to leave their home countries. However, one day these students will grow up to realize that the issue is far too complicated to solve by 'giving papers to everyone' and may in fact create more problems - some in Europe are actually resenting this already. How about understanding first the causes of mass migration and demanding from their government foreign political and economic policies that help to mitigate it?

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Star of David

Israeli group suing two New Zealanders for convincing pop star Lorde to cancel Tel Aviv concert


Sputnik
Wed, 31 Jan 2018 11:08 UTC
Lorde cancels Tel Aviv concert
© Reuters/Dylan MartinezNew Zealand singer Lorde announced on December 24 she will not be performing in Tel Aviv in 2018.
The move is the first lawsuit filed under a 2011 Israeli law, which paves the way for legal action against anyone calling for a boycott against Israel, if that call could knowingly lead to a boycott.

An Israeli legal rights group, Shurat HaDin, has announced that it is suing the two New Zealanders for allegedly convincing pop singer Lorde to cancel her show in the Jewish state on behalf of three would-be concertgoers for about $13,000 in damages.

According to the group, two New Zealanders, one of Jewish and one of Palestinian origin, knew that their letter to Lorde could trigger a boycott, making them open to a suit under the 2011 Israeli law. The legislation paves the way for legal action against anyone calling for a boycott against Israel, including of lands it has occupied, if that call could knowingly lead to a boycott.

Comment: More from RT:
Israelis sue Kiwis over Lorde's cancelled Tel Aviv gig in 1st case under anti-boycott law
Published time: 31 Jan, 2018 19:22

Singer Lorde
© Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images / AFPSinger Lorde
...

Two New Zealand citizens face legal action in Israel after Shurat HaDin, a Tel Aviv-based group protecting Jewish rights worldwide, filed a lawsuit against them on Tuesday, claiming they convinced Lorde to cancel her show, scheduled for June 2018.

Justine Sachs, a Jew, and Nadia Abu-Shanab, a Palestinian, urged the singer to scrap her Israeli tour dates in an open letter published last December. The women cited the occupation of Palestinian land, as well as violations of basic human rights of Palestinians living in the occupied territories. "An economic, intellectual and artistic boycott is an effective way of speaking out against these crimes," they wrote, adding such tactics were effective against apartheid in South Africa.

Responding to the letter, the 21-year-old singer tweeted: "Noted! Been speaking (with) many people about this and considering all options. Thank u for educating me i am learning all the time too."

She later canceled her shows, saying she was "sorry" and hoped that "one day we can all dance."



...

Launched in 2005, the Palestinian-led BDS campaign was designed to pressure Israel to comply with international law and to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories. The campaign urges international companies and investors to leave Israel, as well as calling on artists, writers, and cultural institutions to oppose the Israeli government.

To fight back, the Israeli government has taken several measures, including restricting entrance to the country to BDS activists from 20 organizations. The government has even reportedly set up a secretive group to counteract the anti-Israeli campaigns through "mass awareness activities."

Shurat HaDin lodged a complaint on behalf of three ticket-holders for Lorde's concerts, seeking $13,000 in compensation "for moral and emotional injury and the indignity," the group's head and a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said.
Israel sees that its attempts to derail the BDS movement are no longer working to silence criticism, and is now trying to sabotage the movement in any way possible:

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Mr. Potato

Toronto: Cops suspended after they eat pot edibles from dispensary raid, hallucinate and get stuck in a tree

Rachel Blevins
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 31 Jan 2018 00:01 UTC
Cops marijuana police weed
© thefreethoughtproject.com
Two police officers have been suspended after they called for back-up, and the responding officer discovered that they were hallucinating from marijuana edibles - which they reportedly confiscated while raiding a dispensary.

CP24 reported that the officers consumed marijuana edibles while on duty, and then "called for help after one of the officers ended up in a tree." The female officer who responded to the call "slipped and sustained a serious head injury."

In response to the incident, Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack refused to name the individuals, but said that there was an ongoing investigation and the suspects "could be charged or they could just be cleared through the investigation."
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Stormtrooper

Body cam video shows cops kill Oklahoma grandmother who shot BB gun during marijuana raid

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 12:13 UTC
Oklahoma grandmother marijuana raid
© The Free Thought Project


Disturbing body camera footage was just released showing the moment police killed a grandmother in her home over a raid for marijuana.

Bartlesville, OK - Michael Anthony Livingston, 50, was suspected of selling a plant that is legal in some form in well over half the country. Because the other half of the country still violently and callously kidnaps, cages, and kills people for this plant, however, Livingston is in jail and his mother is now dead. The entire incident was captured on video and paints a disturbing picture of America's war on drugs.

Geraldine Townsend, 72, was shot and killed earlier this month as a Bartlesville SWAT team executed a search warrant to bust Livingston for the alleged sale of marijuana. Body camera footage of the raid was released today.

When the heavily armed and militarized men kicked in the door to their home, Townsend, likely not knowing who her home invaders were, picked up a pellet gun and fired off two pellets. A Bartlesville officer then shot and killed her.
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Eye 1

German intel chief suggests surveilling children of ISIS to prevent terror attacks


RT
Thu, 01 Feb 2018 12:07 UTC
kid child smartphone teenager
© Jan Haas / Global Look Press
Germany's domestic intelligence chief is urging Berlin to review laws restricting the surveillance of minors, warning that "brainwashed" children who grew up with Islamic State ideology could be "living time bombs."

Hans-Georg Maassen, head of Germany's Office for Protection of the Constitution (BfV), spoke to Reuters about the possibility of children who were raised around Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Syria and Iraq could return to Germany and potentially carry out violent attacks.

"We see that children who grew up with Islamic State were brainwashed in the schools and the kindergartens of IS," he said. "They were confronted early with the IS ideology... learned to fight, and were in some cases forced to participate in the abuse of prisoners, or even the killing of prisoners."
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Pistol

Absolutely Sick! Cops kill family's dog in front of kids, force dad to cut its head off or go to jail (UPDATE)

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Sun, 03 Dec 2017 00:01 UTC
psycho cop shoots dog
A horrifying video was submitted to the Free Thought Project this weekend showing two Georgia cops force a man to cut his own dog's head off because one of them had just shot it.

The owner of the dog, Joe Nathan Goodwin filmed the incident. The video shows that simply because Goodwin refused to cut off his dog's head that he was assaulted by a police officer and thrown down on the hood of his truck.

Imagine for a moment, police officers coming on to your property, killing your dog in front of your children, and as you were grieving, they force you to remove its head.

It is important to note that removing the head of an animal is standard procedure for health departments when testing an animal for rabies. However, this is supposed to be done by professionals who know what they are doing-not a dad who just watched his dog get killed.

Comment: This is a new low in police officers seeming insatiable need to exert unjust authority on innocent citizens. It seems that police officers aren't satisfied with simply killing family dogs in front of their kids. Now they're upping the game by forcing them to desecrate the beloved pet's body. "Sick" doesn't even begin to cover the level of depravity. See also: Update via The Free Thought Project:
On Thursday, the family filed a lawsuit for damages sustained when police shot and killed their dog and then forced the father to cut off its head to bring it to the health department.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Joe Goodwin and Tosha Dacon are suing the county, Sheriff Lewis Walker and deputies James Hollis and Wesley Andrew Neesmith for $75,000 in connection with the Dec. 1, according to the lawsuit.

"Under extreme emotional duress and distress, and under threat of incarceration and physical harm, Plaintiff Goodwin was forced to decapitate the dog with a knife," the lawsuit states.

As the AJC notes, in addition to the "great physical and mental pain and suffering," which has required counseling, Goodwin lost his job as a result of the actions, the lawsuit states.


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